As University of Oregon sophomores, their hobby of pantry-raiding to make nut butter earned them the title of the "Peanut Butter Girls" on campus.

But the side gig evolved quickly. They started dabbling with ingredients such as chocolate, cinnamon and coconut. Tillotson drew a squirrel label and made a website. Seven months after making their first jar, they were flying to California to film a spot on ABC TV's entrepreneurial reality show Shark Tank.

"The sharks told us, 'There's no way you can run a company and be in college at the same time,'" Tillotson says. "We took that to heart. On the plane ride home, we decided to leave school."

What started with $50,000 in backing from Tillotson's family has now grown to millions. The two want the brand to become the next Annie's. To do that, the pair are looking to expand their offerings. In addition to over 15 different nut butters—dessert-worthy on their own with ingredients like chocolate, honey, chia, collagen and flax—they're planning on moving into the breakfast aisle, with instant oatmeal and nut butter cups.

"Our goal is, we want to be in every grocery store, ever," Welsh says. "Right now, we're in about 9,000, which is a lot, but we have a long way to go."